Reply #52: I have an interesting situation on that front, I think. [View All]

[jpljr77]

Nearly all of my family is pretty pro-Republican. I'm from southern Georgia, and a lot of my family still lives there, so some of the Pub bias is based on current local trends, some is based on religious beliefs and some is a fairly rational personal financial bias.

They like to talk to me about politics because I live in DC, although I do not work in politics. I guess they feel that I must have certain insight into politics and just absorb it by osmosis.

The interesting part is that they all think I'm a Republican as well. I think it's because of my ardent support of McCain in 2000, back when he was slightly saner. What I didn't tell them is that I actually voted for Gore after McCain was "black-babied" out of the Pub nomination race.

And let me be clear: I do NOTHING to reinforce their assertion that I'm a Republican. When I discuss politics with my dad, a quasi-Limbaugh style Pub that I actually think should be voting Republican based on his financial situation, I play it down the middle and speak in generalities. In fact, I recently even lauded Clinton and Obama and bashed Bush (he agreed, fwiw) on our last phone call...a pretty big step for me. I did not, however, mention that I voted for Obama in the Potomac Primaries.

My mom, who is an evangelical Pub (my parents are divorced, btw), has a little better understanding of my politics simply because I am more open with her because, well, she's my mom. She's known for a while that I have no love for Bush and voted for Kerry and would most likely vote for the Dem nominee in November. But she still doesn't know the extent of my liberalness.

And I'll tell you, it makes for surprisingly candid conversations on their part. Just a few weeks ago, I was talking to my grandmother and she actually said, "I just can't imagine being forced to say 'President Obama.'" Likewise, my mom said that Hillary would "be a shame for women all over the country" if she won. And, probably the saddest of all, my dad said that he voted for McCain because he was probably the best chance to defeat "either of them" in November. And he HATES McCain.

So that's how I deal with it...avoidance. Maybe that's not the bravest thing to do, but it makes for easier familial relations.